March Shred Rule #10: Eat Out Less than Twice Per Week!

Missed the Introduction to the March Shred? Click HERE.

Eat out less than 2 times per week.

In my humble opinion, this might be the most difficult of all of the 10 rules. This is a tough one because it requires extremely good planning and discipline. Even without trying, I probably eat out 5 or more times per week. Some people I know eat out every single day...seriously...every day. The problem is out to eat food is designed to taste really good, and to not spoil quickly. Therefore, these foods are typically LOADED with calories, unhealthy carbs and fats.

Truth be told, there really aren't many healthy options out there...but there are a few. For your out to eat during the week, make a good decision. For example, a low calorie sub at Subway on wheat bread. Like anything else though, you have to watch the condiments. For your out to eat meal on the weekend, you are allowed to cheat in order to keep your sanity...but just restrict it to that one meal...not an all day calorie stuffing binge.

What about that cheat meal?

So much to say about the cheat meal... First of all, if you somehow think the cheat meal will spike your metabolism, throw your body off balance and actually help you burn more fat and lose more weight...you're fooling yourself. It's a great thought, but a cheat meal where you consume a bunch of calories does in fact work against your goals. Then why even have one? Well...if you don't need one, don't take one. But, some people will simply quit if they don't get a pizza or a burger from time to time...so in the long run, cheating once per week is a whole lot better than quitting the plan all together. Especially since the way some of us eat...every meal is a cheat meal :)

At your cheat meal, anything is allowed. That means if you want to drink a coke or a tea...go for it...that won't count against your points...BUT eating out will count against the points you can earn each week for not eating out at all. If you want dessert with your meal...do it! BUT...the rule is you need to keep it to 1 meal. Not a window of a few hours where you just eat whatever you want. We want to try to minimize the damage somewhat.

Saving some serious cash!!!

Even though we have a budget and try to avoid out to eat food...we usually spend $200 to $300 a month on out to eat food. Kinda ridiculous since I already think we spend too much on groceries. If you don't budget, or aren't really trying to limit how much you eat out...you are probably spending even more! So what happens if you cut it down to eating out 2 times per week or less? You save a bunch of money!!! So what are Leigh and I doing with the extra money we are going to save this month? DUH...celebrating April 1st by going out to eat and dropping some mad cash on dinner...and that isn't an April Fools joke!

How you know if you are performing Rule #10 successfully

Alright now, some of you campers out there (you know who you are) are really stretching on this one. I had someone ask me if they bought a salad at Chick-fil-a if it counted as eating out. Um...yes...if you purchased your food from a restaurant, you ate out. So here is the breakdown of how you can earn points for this rule each week.

If you don't eat out at all in a week, you earn 7 additional points for the week.
If you eat out one time in a week, you earn 6 additional points for the week.
If you eat out two times in a week, you earn 5 additional points for the week.
If you eat out more than two times in a week, you don't earn any additional points for the week.

Helpful Tip

WARNING: Some people end up adhering much better to a plan when they DON'T CHEAT AT ALL. Sometimes, having that cheat meal just wets the appetite for more bad stuff. So, know what works for you, and do what you know is going to be best for you to be successful on the Shred!